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Boaters and anglers weren’t the only outdoor enthusiasts to take advantage of the unofficial start of the summer Memoral Day weekend.

Squirrel season in Missouri started Saturday, and the long hunting season opened with a generous daily limit of 10 squirrels, and a possession limit of 20. The season runs through Feb. 15, 2013, and the population of squirrels remains strong.

One veteran squirrel hunter is Paul Nash of Stockton. Nash has been hunting red and gray squirrels for nearly 60 years and doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon. He started hunting squirrels in Shannon County when he was 6. Now 76, his love for hunting squirrels hasn’t dimmed over the years.

Nash has what he calls the perfect gun for shooting “bushy-tails.” It is a Savage 22-410 over and under. “I like to shoot squirrels with the 22 because it doesn’t hurt the meat, however, if they are running, the 410 will stop them,” he said.

Although he was out of town Saturday for the season opening, “Every day this week I will be out there early in the morning and late afternoon,” he said.

When he first started hunting, he found out that skinning squirrels is a major challenge. He came up with a plan to make it easier by fashioning a board with spikes in the right place to hold the animal. He nailed the board about five feet off the ground. It’s like fishermen who have a fillet-cleaning station — Nash has a squirrel-cleaning station.

The veteran hunter sometimes hunts alone, but he also takes his grandkids on hunts. “When you have another hunter along, you can get the squirrel in a position to shoot, but often when you hunt alone, the squirrel will keep moving around the tree and you can’t get a shot,” he said.

As for places to hunt, Nash said he likes to hunt along creek bottoms, along edges of fields and around mulberry trees. They really like those mulberries, and in the spring they like to get the tender hickory nut kernel as the hickory nuts are forming.

“ I like to hunt squirrels for several reasons. First, they make for some very good eating. Then, you don’t have much competition; its fairly easy compared to other hunting. And you don’t need special gear — you can usually find plenty of targets as the population of bushytails is high and you don’t have to travel very far to find them,” he said.

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Richard Blake, Springfield, is one of the few squirrel hunters who doesn’t mind the heavy ground cover, ticks, heat and mosquitoes of the early season for a chance to take some squirrels.

“When I am out there, I am thinking about how good it will be to have fried squirrel with biscuits and gravy for breakfast,” he said. “There are several things I like about early season squirrel hunting, including the number of squirrel hunters is down. But the number of squirrels is high and that makes it good for me.”

The 73-year-old hunter got his start when he was 7 years old by following his big brother in the woods near his home.

“I tagged along and learned a lot about squirrel hunting. My brother showed me where to look for the bushy-tails and what to expect from them. By the time I was in high school, I would spend nearly every weekend in the squirrel woods. Today, I don’t walk nearly as far as I used to and the hills have gotten higher as well as the trees, but I still manage to bag a few squirrels. I still use my .22 rifle and try to hit my target in a spot where it won’t hurt the meat. It’s a lot easier to shoot one with a shotgun, but when you bite into a pellet, you go back to the rifle,” Blake said.

Squirrel hunters agree that hunting the bushytails is fairly easy and laid back.

“I enjoy hunting squirrels; it’s unlike other game,” Blake said. “You don’t have to spend much time driving instead of hunting, and the chances of getting some squirrels is very good and they sure are excellent eating. It makes my taste buds pop just thinking about having a plateful of fried squirrel.”